La Mesa Ecopark

The La Mesa Ecopark is a public park situated in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

For the larger protected area, see La Mesa Watershed Reservation.
La Mesa Ecopark
La Mesa Resort Zone

LocationQuezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Coordinates14°42′43″N 121°04′27.5″E
Area33 hectares (82 acres)
EtymologyLa Mesa Watershed
Visitors280,000 (in 2011)[1]
StatusOpen all year

History
Approximate boundaries of La Mesa Ecopark are shown in light green.

Covering an area of 33 hectares (82 acres) the public park is located along the natural boundary of the La Mesa Watershed Reservation and its elevation is about 40 metres (130 ft) below than the resorvoir.[2]

After years of neglect,[3] the park underwent a renovation under the "Save La Mesa Watershed Project", a collaboration between Bantay Kalikasan, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and the local government of Quezon City.[2] A fund amounting to ₱247 million was raised for the rehabilitation of the park.[4] It was reopened in September 2004 and was renamed as "La Mesa Ecopark".[2]

In 2019, it was proposed that the park be renamed as Gina Lopez Ecopark to commemorate Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation chairperson Gina Lopez who in 1999 established Bantay Kalikasan which had a role in the ecopark's rehabilitation.[5]

Facilities

Among the activities that can be done by visitors in the park are hiking, mountain-biking, horseback riding, rapelling, zip-lining and fishing. They can also paddle boat ride in the lagoon. The park also has an "Ecotrail" and an orchidarium.[3]

The park also hosts a swimming complex which was opened in 2011. It had previous one which was destroyed by Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) in September 2009. In a 2011 report, the park has annual visitor rate of 280 thousand people.[1]

  • La Mesa Ecopark pond, February 2014
  • A bike loop inside the eco park
  • An ashy ground thrush (Geokichla cinerea) endemic to the Philippines, captured in November 2013 inside the eco park

References
  1. Villanueva, Rhodina Villanueva (6 March 2011). "Ecopark opens new swimming complex". Philippine Star. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  2. "PPP Days 2010 - La Mesa Watershed Ecopark" (PDF). Asian Development Bank. 24 March 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  3. "Gardens and Parks". Quezon City Government. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  4. "Of Saving the La Mesa Watershed: An alliance built on Trust and Love for the Environment". ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  5. "Belmonte backs renaming La Mesa Ecopark after Gina Lopez". Rappler. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
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